This invention relates to a child-proof container and a flip-top closure and, more particularly to child-proof devices for selectively opening and closing a container for dry or for liquid contents.
The POISON PREVENTION PACKAGING ACT in 1970 required special packaging to protect children from serious personal injury or illness resulting from handling, using or ingesting household substances which may be toxic or dangerous. Accordingly, various types of child-proof containers and closures have been developed.
The present invention relates to a type of child-proof container and a flip-top closure which requires placement of the closure in a specific rotational position relative to the associated container in order to open the container, but permits locking of the closures to the container in any other rotational position relative to the container.
It has been previously recognized that the utility of a child-proof closure for a container having dry contents can be enhanced by constructing a one-piece closure molded of a flip-top lid connected to a base member. The connection assures cooperation of the flip-top lid with the base member and eliminates loss of the lid after it has been disengaged from the base member.
Various structures have been utilized in the prior art in order to obtain the foregoing attributes. Examples of closures for dry contents containers of this type are found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,848,780 and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,718,567.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,848,780 issued Nov. 19, 1974, discloses a safety cap of a tubular cap body having a top discharge opening, a captive closure cap adapted to fit over the opening of the cap body so as to seal the same, and cooperative yielding retainer means on the cap body and cap tending to hold the latter firmly in a closed, sealing position on the cap body. The cap is held captive on the body by means of a flexible hinge wedge structure which enables the cap to be swung from a sealing position to an open position.
The cap body and cap have cooperative detent lugs which can by-pass one another when the cap is turned, to yieldably retain the cap in a position wherein its lifting tab is out of registration with the interference lug on the cap body, such that the user's finger can then be easily applied to the underside of the lifting tab for the purpose of removing the cap.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,718,567 issued Jan. 12, 1988, discloses a child-resistant closure having a cap base member and a cap lid member. The cap base member is provided with a dispensing opening, a slot and a cap locking bead adapted to engage a container locking bead. The cap lid member is provided with a locking prong adapted to be received within the slot when the cap lid member assumes a closed position. The cap lid member is adapted to thereafter to assume the open position by a user manually rotating the cap base member with respect to the neck so as to bring the slot into alignment with an interruption in a container locking bead and then manually moving the cap lid member away from the cap base member so as to withdraw the locking prong from the slot, thereby opening the container.
Also in the prior art, closures of this type have been utilized for containers containing liquid contents. Examples of such closures are found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,022,352 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,475.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,022,352 issued May 10, 1977, discloses a cover and safety closure structure for a container having a flowable material therein including a cap member integral with or mounted on the container and having a material dispensing aperture in a top wall of the cap member. A closure member is hingably mounted on the cap member and is movable between an open position and a position in covering relation with and closing the material dispensing aperture. A latch member extends from the closure member and the latch member and cap member have cooperative portions engageable one with the other for retaining the closure member in covering relation with and closing the material dispensing aperture in the cap member. To move the closure member to the open position, it is first necessary to move a portion of the closure member toward the cap member against resistance of a resilient member or members and second to separate the cooperating portions on the latch member and the cap member.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,475 issued Oct. 11, 1988, discloses a child resistant dispensing closure of the type comprising a cap member and a spout member. The cap member is provided with an exterior skirt, a top surface having an elongated groove formed therein, and an interior skirt. The interior skirt is provided with a cap locking bead adapted to engage a container locking bead provided on the neck of a container for rotatably mounting the cap member on the neck of the container. The elongated groove has a dispensing opening and an open area formed therein, and the interior skirt is provided with an interruption at the location of the open area so as to maintain the area unobstructed. The container locking bead is also provided with the interruption. The spout member is adapted to be mounted at one end in the elongated groove for rotation with respect to the cap member. The spout member is provided with a depending locking prong adapted for insertion into the open area for closure. The spout member is adapted to assume an open position wherein the spout member is oriented vertically with respect to the cap member and the dispensing opening and longitudinal passage are in communication.
There is another problem with previous closures wherein a locking bead is manually rotated into alignment with an interruption in a container locking bead: i.e. an adult, after alignment of the bead and interruption for opening the closure, may forget that after closing the closure the bead and interruption are still in alignment for opening by a child. After closing, it is necessary to manually rotate the locking bead out of alignment with the interruption in order to lock the closure and container from immediate, easy opening by a child.
While the attributes of the foregoing closures are numerous, the need exists to provide flip-top closures with a more effective means for preventing unwanted access to potentially harmful contents of the container with which the closures are associated. Typically, the closure is made of semiflexible material. Accordingly, there is a need to preclude undesirable deformation of the closure member whereby the cap can be disassociated from the base member.
Previous attempts to provide flip-top closures of a child-proof character have often resulted in constructions, which, due to their complexity, were prohibitively expensive to manufacture for commercial utilization. Additionally, complicated structures often rendered the closures difficult to operate, even by an adult, requiring highly complicated manipulations, and/or considerable finger strength.
The present invention addresses the foregoing problems and deficiencies by providing a combination of a child-proof container for dry contents or for fluid contents with a flip-top closure for selectively opening and closing the container. The flip-top closure has a body member and a closure or cap member both of which are locked separately with respect to the neck of the container in the fully closed position. By manual rotation of the flip-top closure from the lock position with respect to the associated container so as to assume a specific aligned position, the closure or cap member can be disengaged from the neck of the container to permit access to the contents thereof.
The unlocking position of the top member with respect to the body member of the closure is extremely limited, with all other positions of the closure being locked. Unlocking is achieved only by exact rotation into alignment of the closure with respect to the neck of the container. Further, both the body member and the top member of the flip-top closure are positively and separately locked with respect to the container. This effectively precludes the possibility that a child could deform and thereby open the top member from the body member. Accordingly, a typical child is unlikely to engage in the sophisticated steps needed in order to rotate, to align and to open the closure. Furthermore, the separate locking of both the top member and the body member to the container requires more physical strength in deformation of the members then is required in prior art devices. Accordingly, it is unlikely that a typical child will possess the strength required to deform and to open the child-proof container and flip-top closures of the present invention.